Barry McGuigan will be one of the stars heading Down Under to take part in this year’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, alongside Love Island stars and X-Factor icons

The apparent line-up for the 2024 series of I’m A Celebrity has been unveiled.

After footie ace Ally McCoist gave the jungle the swerve for a third time, ITV chiefs have scored a knockout by drafting in Irish boxing legend and Mirror sports columnist Barry McGuigan to step into his boots for I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.

McGuigan is set to fly out to the Aussie wilderness, diving headfirst into this year’s pre-jungle pandemonium where celebs are snapping up the chance to munch on witchetty grubs – or bailing at the eleventh hour.

One TV insider gushed: “Barry is a bona-fide sporting legend and he’s a great person to have heading for the jungle. When he rose to fame in the 1980s as the WBA featherweight boxing champ he became a non-sectarian ambassador. He fought for both Ireland and Great Britain and was loved and respected on both sides of the divide. There’s not many who can say that.”

Barry McGuigan will appear in the jungle

The father-of-four ruled the roost as featherweight champ from ’83 to ’86, bagged the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year title in ’85, and earned a spot in the International Boxing Hall of Fame two decades later in 2005.

Back in 2017, McGuigan had a chuckle when his mate Amir Khan made a right spectacle of himself fleeing from a slithery serpent in one memorable Bushtucker Trial. Chipping in with his two pence, McGuigan reflected: “He was a bit embarrassing on the first task but he made up for it last night,” reports the Mirror.

Influencer GKBarry has signed up for the jungle show (Image: GK Barry/Instagram)
Now aged 37, it’s Khan’s turn to sit ringside and watch if McGuigan can tackle the jungle like he handled the ring.

Soap legend Alan Halsall from Coronation Street is geared up to venture into the jungle series this year after a knee injury dashed his plans last season, with WAG queen Coleen Rooney and Love Island’s Maura Higgins who stepped in following Tommy Fury’s last-minute drop-out also in the line-up. Singer Tulisa Contostavlos of X Factor fame’s set to strut her stuff in the wild too.

Oti Mabuse is set for some Bushtucker Challenges (Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)
Ex-Strictly fave Oti Mabuse is tipped to be shimmying down under alongside McFly crooner Danny Jones, chasing bandmate Dougie Poynter’s jungle throne from 2011.

Sporty pundit Barry hasn’t hogged our screens much lately except for his stints commentating on sports. But, throwback to 2007, he was cooking up a storm as ITV’s Hell’s Kitchen champ.

Boxer turned fitness fanatic Barry, who’s a sprightly 63, stays trim with a routine packed with exercise and pumping iron.

Corrie star Alan Halsall has also reportedly signed up (Image: ITV)
Just a couple of years back, Barry dished out advice: “You have to fight back against ageing. As we get older, we start to develop joint problems, issue with knees and hips and ankles. You have to fight back and the way to do it is through body weight exercises, particularly lunges and squats.”

Barry and his wife Sandra were struck by devastating loss in 2019 when their daughter Danika passed away from cancer at just 33. Paying homage to her spirit, he said she spurred him to maintain his health and keep strong.

Coleen Rooney is one of this year’s star draws (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Dis)
“We think about her nonstop,” he shared. “She was a super girl, a super lassie. It has been such a tragedy for us, but I know I have to get on with life, for her.”

Throughout his professional career, McGuigan earned the nickname ‘the Clones Cyclone’, a nod to his birthplace in Ireland. After hanging up his gloves, he transitioned into boxing promotion, working alongside his wife and their three sons.

I’m A Celeb’s full (unconfirmed) 2024 line-up

Danny Jones
Oti Mabuse
Jane Moore
Dean McCullough
Tulisa
Barry McGuigan
Melvin Odoom
Alan Halsall
Maura Higgins
Rev Richard Coles
Coleen Rooney
GK Barry

An ITV representative declined to comment on rumours about potential jungle contestants last night.